OUTLOOK 2010 TIPS

TOPIC / KEY WORD / TIP
GENERAL / Archive / Archive items manually
An efficient way to reduce the size of your Outlook Data File (.pst) or Exchange mailbox is to regularly archive older items. Unlike a traditional backup in which a copy of Outlook items is made, archived items are moved to a separate Outlook Data File (.pst). Archived items can be accessed at any time by opening the file.
Note The Archive command and feature doesn’t appear for any account in your Outlook profile if you include an Exchange Server account and your organization uses Microsoft Exchange Server Online Archive. Your network administrator can also disable this feature.
By default, older Outlook items archived automatically on a regular interval. To learn more about AutoArchive, see Use AutoArchive to back up or delete items.
You can also manually back up and archive items, in addition to AutoArchive or as a replacement. Manual archiving provides flexibility, and allows you to specify exactly which folders are included in the archive, and which archive Outlook Data File (.pst) is used.
To manually archive Outlook items, do the following:
  1. Click the File tab
  2. Click Cleanup Tools.
  3. Click Archive.
  4. Click the Archive this folder and all subfolders option, and then click the folder that you want to archive. Any subfolder of the folder you select is included in this manual archive.
  5. Under Archive items older than, enter a date.

  1. If you do not want to use the default file or location, under Archive file, click Browse to specify a new file or location. Browse to find the file that you want, or enter the file name, then click OK. The destination file location appears in the Archive file box.
  2. Select the Include items with “Do not AutoArchive” checked check box to include any items that might be individually marked to be excluded from automatic archiving. This option does not remove that exclusion from these items, but instead ignores the Do not AutoArchive check box for this archive only.
Turn off AutoArchive
If you want to archive only manually, you must turn off AutoArchive. Do the following:
  1. Click the File tab.
  2. Click Options.
  3. On the Advanced tab, under AutoArchive, click AutoArchive Settings.
  4. Clear the Run AutoArchive every n days check box.
Drag and drop Outlook messages to save them to your hard drive
I discovered a fast and easy way to save Outlook messages to my hard drive yesterday. In the past I’ve written about archiving Outlook messages, but this technique is much easier.
  • Simply navigate to the folder where you want to store the message(s) or create a new folder, and leave it open on your desktop
  • In Outlook, click on the message and begin dragging it
  • Alt/Tab so the folder you want to save it in appears
  • Drop the message into the folder
The message will be saved with a .msg file type, versus .txt If you want to save multiple messages to the same folder, select them by using the Ctrl key, and drag and drop them as a group.
It’s true that this trick will work, but I’d recommend saving the e-mails in a PST file instead. You can create a special “To Save” PST file (or just use your archive.pst file).
Storing the items as .MSG files can be a management/search problem if there are a large number of them and you can lose certain metadata that you may want to have later.
Storing them as a PST file is easier to handle (especially if you want to move it or copy it later) and preserves the native format.
Copying Messages that Have the Same Name
I am having problem copying messages having the same name. I am using window 7 and somehow it did not rename the messages as another version, eg vacantion, vacation(1),
If the email has the exact same subject, you’ll just end up overwriting the earlier email. The only solution is to click File/SaveAs, and when prompted, change the Subject slightly – e.g., Vacation2, Vacation3, etc.
GENERAL / Default / Make Outlook the default program for email messages, contacts, and calendar
Many programs can send information as an email message. For example, you can send a spreadsheet to a mail recipient in Microsoft Excel, or click an email link on a webpage. If you have more than one email application on your computer, the only way to make sure these actions use a particular application, such as Outlook, is to set it as your default program.
The following steps set Microsoft Outlook 2010 as your default mail program.
  1. Click the File tab.
  2. Click Options.
  3. Under Start up options, select the Make Outlook the default program for E-mail, Contacts, and Calendar check box.
Also:
Control Panel – Default Programs – Set Default Programs – Click on Microsoft Outlook – OK
GENERAL / Mail Tips /

Introducing MailTips

byOutlook Team
on August 12
How often have you sent a message to someone only to receive an Out of Office message in reply a moment later? Or (like me) you might have sent a message to a Contact Group, only to find out too late that group contained hundreds of people – when it happened to me I surely wished I had known in advance.
MailTips make these email “accidents” a thing of the past! As you start adopting Outlook 2010 and Exchange 2010 in your organization, we believe that MailTips will help make you feel more in control of your mailbox and more confident about the emails you send.
MailTips offer Outlook users real time information about the message they’re composing and the recipients they intend to reach with it. You will immediately know information such as if a recipient is out of the office, if they’re outside of your organization, or how many people are in a conversation group.
MailTips requires Exchange 2010 and is one of the Outlook 2010 features that best embodies the “better with Exchange” motto. As you compose a message, Outlook and Exchange work together to determine if any MailTips apply to your message, and then display them above the address fields. Also the name of the recipient the MailTip applies to is highlighted in the address field.
In the example below, I am trying to send a message to my colleague Andy and a MailTip is returned to indicate that he’s currently out of the office. At this point I can decide what to do, now that I know Andy won’t get to read this message today.

For example, I could remove Andy from the email and add someone else instead – just by clicking “Remove recipient” in the MailTip.
The MailTips space will expand automatically if more MailTips apply:

It is important to point out that MailTips is a lightweight feature with minimal load increase on the Exchange CAS server. The results are returned to the user quickly so they don’t slow down the process of writing and sending messages. We have developed an extensive caching system that saves MailTips info for recipients for 24 hours, therefore reducing the number of times the server needs to be queried. For Mailbox full and Automatic Reply MailTips, the cache is refreshed every hour because we expect that data to change more often. MailTips are displayed for email messages, meeting requests, sharing messages, and task requests.
The Outlook 2010 MailTips cover a wide array of scenarios and issues:
Restricted Recipient / Displayed when you do not have permission to send messages to a specific recipient – if sent the message will not get delivered.
Moderated contact group / Displayed when a contact group has a moderator (a new feature in Exchange 2010) who triages incoming messages and determines whether the message should be delivered to the contact group.
Invalid recipient address / Displayed when the recipient’s address is no longer valid – this can often happen if a recipient address was stored in the nickname cache but the recipient has left your organization since the last time it was used.
Message too large for recipient / Displayed when the size of the outgoing message exceeds the size limit for incoming messages of one or more of the recipients.
Message too large to send / Displayed when the size of the outgoing message exceeds the send message size of the sender.
Recipient Mailbox is full / Displayed when the recipient’s mailbox is full and the message cannot be delivered to them.
Large number of recipients or contact group / Displayed when the number of recipients that the message will be delivered to (either as individuals or as part of a contact group) exceeds a defined value set by the Exchange administrator.
Recipient is using automatic replies / Displayed when a recipient has turned on their Automatic Reply (aka Out of Office) message.
External recipient / Displayed when a recipient is outside your organization.
External recipient in contact group / Displayed when a contact group contains a recipient that is outside your organization.
Additional information / This MailTip is intended to replace messages that might otherwise be sent as an automatic response. Examples of these are messages like "You will receive a response within 72 hours" or "this mailbox is not monitored." They might also be useful for a user who works part time, and might not want to always have an Automatic Reply message set up.
Mailbox quota about to be exceeded / Displayed when the message being composed will push your mailbox quota over the limit and it will not be possible to send more messages until space in the mailbox is freed.
Each of these MailTips can be turned on or off in the MailTips options (accessible in the Mail section of the Outlook options). They can also be turned on or off by the Exchange administrator – ensuring that they can be configured depending on the characteristics of any given organization.

GENERAL / Personal Folders / Create an Outlook Data File (.pst) to save your information
When you run Microsoft Outlook for the first time, the necessary data files are created automatically. However, sometimes you'll create additional data files. For example, archived items can be saved in another Outlook Data File (.pst) (Outlook Data File (.pst): Data file that saves your messages and other items on your computer. You can assign a .pst file to be the default delivery location for email messages. You can use a .pst to organize and back up items for safekeeping.). You might also keep different projects in their own Outlook Data File (.pst).
If you are using a Microsoft Exchange Server account, an Outlook Data File (.pst) is usually not necessary as your items are delivered to and saved on the computer that is running Exchange Server. However, Exchange accounts include functionality in Outlook to enable you to work with your messages even when a connection to the email server isn't available. This feature uses a special offline Outlook Data File (.ost) that is used to keep a synchronized copy of the Exchange account.
About Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost)
Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost) created by using Microsoft Outlook 2010 are saved on your computer in the Documents\Outlook Files folder
The primary differences between the two Outlook Data File types are as follows:
  • An Outlook Data File (.pst) is used for POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3): A common Internet protocol that is used to retrieve email messages from an Internet email server.) and IMAP (IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol): Unlike Internet email protocols such as POP3, IMAP creates folders on a server to store/organize messages for retrieval by other computers. You can read message headers only and select which messages to download.) email accounts. Additionally, when you want to create archives or backup files of the Outlook folders and items on your computer, such as Exchange accounts, you create and use an additional Outlook Data File (.pst).
  • An offline Outlook Data File (.ost) is used only when you have an Exchange account and chose to work offline or you use Cached Exchange Mode. It isn’t necessary to back up an offline Outlook Data File (.ost). A new .ost file can be created from the data saved on the computer is running Exchange Server.
Top of Page
Create an Outlook Data File (.pst)
  1. On the Home tab, in the New group, click New Items, point to More Items, and then click Outlook Data File.
  2. In the Create or Open Outlook Data File dialog box, in the File name box, type the name as you want it to appear in the Outlook Navigation Pane (Navigation Pane: The column on the left side of the Outlook window that includes buttons for the Mail, Calendar, and Tasks views and the folders within each view. Click a folder to show the items in the folder.), and then click OK.
  3. By default, data files are not password-protected. To add a password to your data file, under Password, type that password that you want to use in the Password and Verify Password text boxes.
Important Microsoft, your Internet service provider (ISP) (ISP: A business that provides access to the Internet for such things as electronic mail, chat rooms, or use of the World Wide Web. Some ISPs are multinational, offering access in many locations, while others are limited to a specific region.), or your email administrator don’t have access to your password, nor can they assist you with recovering the contents of the Outlook Data File (.pst) if you forget the password
 Download and install the Outlook Personal Folders Backup tool. This tool is available as a free download from Microsoft. To install the file, double click on the downloaded Pfbackup.exe executable file and follow the installation instructions (see Resources for download link).
 2
Open Outlook. Click the "File" menu and select "Backup." When the backup window opens, select "Options." This will open up the options menu.
  3
Select "Backup These Personal Folders Files" and check the box for every item you wish to copy as a backup. Click "Browse" and navigate to the folder you wish to save your email backup. Click "OK," then click "Save Backup." Close Outlook and Windows will automatically make a backup for your emails and store them in the folder you selected.
GENERAL / Emailing Pictures / One common mistake people make when they send graphics files, such as JPEG photograph files, is to send them without first reducing their file size. The problem is compounded by the way pictures are broken up and transmitted in e-mail. Thus, when sent, a message with a 500 KB picture could become a 750 KB message.
Why is this bad? Big messages can cause big problems: they take longer to send and receive, and take up space in your mailbox; in addition, some e-mail service providers restrict the size of messages you can send or receive, so a message with a big file may not reach its destination.
Outlook can help with this. When you attach JPEG or other graphics files to a message, Outlook gives you some choices in the Picture options section of the Attachment Options pane. These options allow you to reduce the size of the picture before you send it. You'll get a chance to try using this pane in the practice session at the end of this lesson.
NoteWhen you use the options to reduce the size of the picture, you don't change the size of the original file on your hard disk. Only a copy of the picture that you send is affected. You'll see the changed file size only in the sent or received message.

See how to send pictures and files

When you follow some of these practice steps, these instructions may be hidden. To keep these instructions in front of you, press ALT+TAB or, alternatively, you can print this page (in this Help pane, right-click, and then click Print on the shortcut menu).
For these exercises, you'll use the files that you saved to My Documents in the last practice session. If you didn't do that practice, you can use any graphics file (or you can go back and complete the other practice first).

Exercise 1: Check your settings

These exercises assume that you're using Word as your e-mail editor and HTML as your default message format. These steps will help you verify that.
  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. Under Message format, note the settings for the following options:
  3. Compose in this message format
  4. Use Microsoft Office Word 2003 to edit e-mail messages
Write these settings down so that you can restore them later if you make changes in the next few steps.